I sat down with Steve Poltz at DelFest Bluegrass Festival in Cumberland Maryland, after his set on the main stage there, which was, according to Steve, the greatest show he had ever played. The next day I saw him play a completely different set at the festival, which was, according to Steve, even greater, making that the best show of his life.
In between these great sets we had a wide (wide) ranging conversation. Steve told some tales, he talked about the art of telling tales, he broke down some Neil Young and Roger Miller songs to demonstrate their songwriting brilliance, ate some cookies, and talked about his upcoming Steve Poltz Song Factory songwriting workshop in August in New York State.
We heard about the sound of breaking glass, how an overdose of weed brownies changed his career (for the better), and how he discovered a love for the Grateful Dead after successfully recovering from an on-stage stroke. Did I mention it was wide ranging?
One of my most enjoyable conversations on the podcast ever.
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Episode 63: Elizabeth Moen
I had a blast talking with Chicago based musician and songwriter Elizabeth Moen, she is funny, thoughtful, honest, and has an absolute overflowing reservoir of musical talent.
As you will hear, Elizabeth was born and raised in Iowa but has made Chicago her musical home for a number of years. She has a few albums under her belt including 2022’s excellent "Wherever You Aren’t". She has been working on her highly anticipated next record with producer Spencer Tweedy, another member of the Chicago music scene; aside from his producing work Spencer is also the drummer for the music project Waxahatchee.
Elizabeth’s talents have allowed her to write and perform songs that cross musical boundaries: folk, rock, blues, jazz and so on; her voice is a true instrument. You can hear some of the diverse nature of her work in just the few clips of the songs we discuss. But we hear about how her work with producing partner Spencer on the upcoming record has allowed Elizabeth to realize perhaps the true expression of her vocal talents.
Also discussed: covering CeeLo Green in a high school talent show, finding the perfect chord with an accidental pinky, and Elizabeth’s tortured journey from mathlete to calculus cheater.
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Episode 62: Mel Parsons
We sat down with New Zealand artist Mel Parsons at the 2025 Fok Alliance International Conference in Montreal in February. Mel is a deft and powerful songwriter, her lyrics are put together with wit and wisdom, and she plays a powerful guitar amid excellent arragements. Her latest album, Sabotage, is a real gem. We had a lovely chat, talked about not talking about songs, and creating from the unconscious. We also learned about the Time Ball in her current home town of Lyttleton, NZ, and how it might be the secret to that town’s artistic magnetism.
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Episode 61: Twisted Pine
Twisted Pine is a boundary jumping string band; although based in bluegrass their music defies categorization in a joyous and exhilarating fashion. We sat down with Kathleen Parks, Dan Bui, Anh Phung and Chris Sartori at the Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots Festival in Vermont. Topics include their wonderful new record “Love Your Mind”, late night bluegrass festival doings, shifting musical roles within songs, Tom Petty vocal influences, and much more.
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Episode 60: Bob Sumner
We sat down with Canadian musician Bob Sumner at AmericanaFest in Nashville; we discuss his recent record "Some Place to Rest Easy", which has become one of my favorite releases of 2024. The musical vibes are lovely, echoing the sounds of my favorite Randy Travis records of the 90’s, but Bob also hits us with gut punch lyricism that brings to mind Townes van Zandt and Steve Earle.
Bob is a wonderful conversationalist, there is a lot of great stuff in this one. We hear about how one positive comment from a high school teacher may have been a life changer, how he made a listener cry at his first open mic performance, what he learned from making music with his big brother for 20 years as part of The Sumner Brothers, and playing guitar and writing songs while (literally) driving his car as a food delivery person.
Together we come to the realization that not only is Bob a great writer himself, but he has a gift for recognizing the perfect lines written by others (I look forward to discovering something witty I said to Bob appearing in one of his future songs).
Check out the video for Bob’s song "Motel Room", he has some killer dance moves, and the song and video display the way Bob worked with both joy and sadness while putting this record together.
This was one of my favorite discussions on the podcast, and I thank Bob for being so generous with his thoughts and for being such a great listener.
Welcome to Tell You What! the Podcast. We have conversations with musicians about songwriting and the creative process. Check out all our episodes and discover some great young musicians and bands.
Music is the best.
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